Futures

Science fiction is a precision tool for analyzing the present, and so these glimpses into the social and technological future (and not to mention the futuristic present already upon us!) offer us a clearer idea of where the Middle East and rest of the world stand poised today.

FILMS:

Nation Estate | 9 min | PALESTINE/DENMARK | 2012

Directed by Larissa Sansour

Nation Estate is a 9-minute sci-fi short offering a clinically dystopian, yet humorous approach to the deadlock in the Middle East. The film explores a vertical solution to Palestinian statehood: One colossal skyscraper housing the entire Palestinian population – now finally living the high life.

Robota | 6 min | USA/SPAIN/CZECH REPUBLIC | 2013

Directed by David Braun & Victor Sala

#robot #woman #room #isolation #technology #pills #entertainment #food #happiness #spy #curiosity #spiral #tale #relationship #past #present #future #machine #desires #Ona #dreams

Survival Visa | 9 min | TUNISIA / QATAR | 2014

Directed by Nadia Rais

The NASA (National & Arabic Survival Agency) publishes a call for the attribution of a limited number of Survival Visas.

Electrostatic | 4 min | SYRIA | 2013

Directed by Sawsan Nourallah

Every day, the electric pole stands in the same place while everything moves around him. Until a bird arrives and the pole desires mobility. But this may come at the cost of his useful purpose…

Da Vinci | 25 min | ITALY | 2011

Directed by Yuri Ancarani

Robotic surgery department. A surgeon performs an entire operation, controlling the robot’s motions using a joystick.

Applied Metacinema | 4 min | FRANCE/RUSSIA | 2014

Directed by Luis Nieto.

There has not yet been any applied work of Metacinema. It was necessary to give the path to methodological problems. That is the reason why I decided to choose the purest subject to analyze. That is a subject composed of a single “substance”.

MOD | 11 min | TURKEY | 2012

Directed by Deniz Tarsus,

Equilibrium is upside down, humanity is exhausted, and people are willing to sacrifice everything for a dream machine that can show them their future happiness.

The film program will be followed by a panel discussion.

Imagine Science Film Festival is presented in partnership with NYUAD Institute.

ARTS IN CONTEXT

Post Screening Panel 7:30 pm

Technology surrounds us and permeates our lives, bringing new possibilities and new complications. Join us for a conversation on the technological present and future: the tools of futuristic art and music, the effects of living for a month entirely in a virtual reality, and the other unseen worlds just over the horizon.

PANELISTS

MARK FARID, JOHN INGLE & NIMROD VARDI // Collaborators from SEEING I

Seeing-I is a social-artistic experiment that uses Virtual Oculus Rift technology.  Mark Farid is a multimedia conceptual artist, who centres upon social constructs and their ever growing influences on us. John Ingle is a director, designer and thinker. Nimrod Vardi is the director and curator of arebyte gallery and Arbeit Studios in East London. Abu Dhabi Virtual Oculus Rift Installation is part of Experimental Records in The Project Space.

LOUISE HOOPER // Filmmaker – When Bjork Met Attenborough

Louise Hooper is a highly visual, innovative and experienced director making high profile features and dramas for BBC, C4, and SKY ATLANTIC. Louise is known for her ability for great storytelling, beautifully crafted films, and an infectious energy and ease on set. The interactive App Biophila by Scott Snibbe is featured in Experimental Records in the Project Space.

LUIS NIETO // Artist, Filmmaker & Director – Applied Metacinema

Today Nieto develops his art in different branches — painting, music, live performances — but he mostly directs films, operas and contemporary concerts. Carlitopolis Mouse Art Film can be seen in the exhibit Experimental Record at the Project Space.

MODERATOR

SCOTT FITZGERALD // Assistant Arts Professor Interactive Media

Scott Fitzgerald is a media artist whose work has been performed and exhibited throughout the USA, Europe, and Asia. His work explores the transition between the physical and digital world, using new technologies as expressive tools.